A Whatsapp message has been circulating in social media saying:
“Recently there has been more and more missing people in Singapore. Taxi drivers has received a 5th SMS of 5 missing person in Singapore. Parents please watch your child and make sure to find out where your children is.
In the past there was a few children that gone missing and was believed to be spotted at Thailand, Chiang Mai without hands and legs working as beggar. This is to get sympathy and prevent them from running away from the thugs.”
There seem to be no confirmation from the Police or the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) if such allegations are true.
The New Paper in reporting on the case of missing children last year quoted a former policeman Joseph Tan as saying that Crime Library, a voluntary group he founded that helps track missing people, saw 45 cases of missing children in the year 2014, and about 20 last year.
He advised parents to immediately lodge a police report when their children go missing. The Police can alert taxi drivers through their Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) to look out for such missing children, and have an entire operational fleet 16000 – 17000 taxis to act as their eyes in the search.
The MSF had previously said that “MSF is aware of the case of the missing children who were located by the police,” and that they will look “into the case and will provide the necessary assistance to ensure the well-being of the children.”